Michael Stewart delivers Hollywood-style storyline in 25th Dunhill Links
Ayrshireman oversomes lack of practice round to share lead after 1st round in $5m DP World Tour event
It’s an event that often features Hollywood stars and, boy, did the opening day of the 25th Alfred Dunhill Links Championship throw up a storyline that would have had the film producers in Los Angeles licking their lips.
Michael Stewart, once tipped to go all the way to the top of the ladder but still trying to climb rungs at the age of 36, only found out on Monday that he’d secured a sponsor’s spot for the $5 million DP World Tour event.
Due to the fact he was playing in the Tartan Pro Tour’s Duddingston Classic for three days and currently in a position to secure a step up to the Hotel Planner Tour, Stewart teed up at Carnoustie at just after 10am on Thursday without playing a practice round.
He’d gone from playing in an event on the Scottish circuit worth £20,000, picking up £2,365 for finishing second, to teeing up in a star-studded field competing for $5 million and a top prize worth around $810,000.
Yet, feeling at home on a links course after being used to that style of golf during his amateur career in particular, the likeable Ayrshireman took the huge step up in his stride as he carded an eye-catching seven-under-par 65. Set up by a back-nine burst - he followed an eagle at the par-5 12th with four birdies in a row - the spectacular effort left Stewart sharing the lead with Australian Jack Buchanan at the end of the first day.
“Yeah, feeling great, to be honest,” admitted Stewart, who, as a Troon Welbeck member, won the Scottish Boys’ Championship in 2008 before adding the Scottish Amateur Championship two years later. “I couldn't really have asked for today to go any better. Yeah, delighted.”
While the sun was out and Carnoustie was looking resplendent, a stiff breeze ensured that it was anything but easy. But, as Stewart, who played in a Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 against the likes of Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley observed, it was blowing in a favourable direction at the Angus venue.
“We were very fortunate with the wind direction that we got because the back nine tends to show its teeth around this place and the front nine was the nine that was showing its teeth today,” pointed out the joint-leader. “On the back nine, if you were hitting good shots, you were going to have a lot of chances. So I was fortunate to hit some good shots and then convert my chances.”
Signed by Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler after turning professional 15 years ago, Stewart smiled when he was asked if the effort had been his best at Carnoustie. “Yeah, by a long way,” he replied. “I'm usually rattling around the bunkers in this place. Yeah, it's just nice to be out in this sort of field.”
Stewart, who made the cut after qualifying for The 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool, is playing in just his sixth DP World Tour event. He’s made 49 appearances on what is now called the Hotel Planner Tour and is desperate to be back on that stage next season.
“I'm really, really hoping that I can hang on to that second spot,” he said before playing down his lack of preparation for this latest assignment. “Listen, the golf courses, they don't change, you know, I've played these places loads,” he added.
“I had dinner with Davy Law and Scott Jamieson last night, so I sort of picked their brains on how the course was playing. They said there wasn't much rough, so it's a very unusual tactic at Carnoustie to have certain holes where you're actually trying to hit it in the rough, like, you know what I mean, to at least take off some of the distance of the hole and knowing that there's not really that much punishment, which was great.
“So I'll need to pick Danny Young's brains on Kingsbarns for tomorrow and see how that's playing and yeah, hopefully I can continue the good golf.”
On a day when Buchanan earned his share of the lead with a bogey-free salvo at Kingsbarns, world No 4 Matt Fitzpatrick signed for a 68 at Carnoustie, where defending champion Bob MacIntyre had to settle for a 71, three shots better than record three-time winner Tyrrell Hatton.
“What I expect is if I play good golf, I can shoot good scores,” said Stewart as he looked ahead to a second-round test at Kingsbarns before heading to St Andrews on Saturday. “It's not like you put pressure on yourself trying to have a finish because there's no pressure on me this week. I'm not a guy that's playing to try and keep my card or like, yeah, it's effectively a free hit for me and it's great. So I can go at it with a little bit of a different perspective.
“Obviously, I want to try and play as well as I can. Look, for me, links golf, for me and for a lot of Scottish guys, is a little bit of a leveller with the familiarity of the conditions, the wind, hopefully not the rain. But yeah, like, I grew up on this style golf course, so I feel at home.”
He laughed again when it was pointed out that the winner this weekend secures a two-year exemption on the DP World Tour? “Hopefully, some catastrophic weather comes in and they cancel it for the next three days,” he said. “That would be phenomenal. That'd be great. No, look, I've got three more days to go. Honestly, I'm not thinking about winning a golf tournament right now. If I somehow manage to find myself being in and around the lead come Sunday, on the back nine, maybe.
“But, look, you just have to look at the field this week. The field's amazing. So, look, try and keep playing some good golf and see where we're at at the end of the week.”
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